The full line-up for the Baltic Sea Darts Open, scheduled for May 29-31, was confirmed today through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. Players competed down to a Last 20, with the winners of those ties securing their spots in the eighth European Tour event of the calendar.
Rob Cross suffered a second consecutive qualifier defeat in the final round, losing 6-3 to Alan Soutar, which impacts his World Matchplay hopes. Dimitri van den Bergh also fell short, exiting 6-4 to James Hurrell. On the positive side, Ricky Evans was the first to seal his Kiel spot, easing past Viktor Tingstrom 6-2, while Max Hopp edged out Christian Kist 6-5. Lukas Wenig delivered one of the best performances, averaging 94 in a 6-4 win over Stephen Burton.
Other qualifiers include Jeffrey de Zwaan, Ian White, Jimmy van Schie, Justin Hood, and Sebastian Bialecki, who won 6-5 against Sietse Lap. Hood, who reached a ProTour final earlier this week, averaged 101 in his victory. Notable players missing out include Richard Veenstra, Shane McGuirk, and Cristo Reyes. Defending champion Gerwyn Price will also feature in the tournament.
Detailed results from the qualifier show key averages and scores: Alan Soutar (92.35) beat Rob Cross (93.99) 6-3, Max Hopp (95.23) defeated Christian Kist (89.8) 6-5, Ricky Evans (88.32) topped Viktor Tingstrom (81.02) 6-2, Lukas Wenig (94.8) overcame Stephen Burton (93.3) 6-4, James Hurrell (93.18) beat Dimitri Van den Bergh (93.52) 6-4, Jeffrey De Zwaan (84.21) defeated Shane McGuirk (88.78) 6-4, Ian White (84.51) won against Dennie Olde Kalter (86.54) 6-2, Jimmy van Schie (96.67) beat Richard Veenstra (86.82) 6-3, Sebastian Bialecki (93.27) edged Sietse Lap (93.68) 6-5, and Justin Hood (101.83) topped Cristo Reyes (96.62) 6-3.
